Editor Pick
Aqua Guy's Super Panga Boat Tour
- September 1, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Stircrazy from around, Texas
Aqua Guy met our taxi ($3 USD from Crown Paradise to Marina Vallarta) and we embarked on the trip of a lifetime! The Super Panga is a custom built 26 footer, accomodates 8 passengers, and is provisioned with all the required snorkeling gear, fishing tackle for trolling the bay, assorted beverages, and lots of sunshine!
Michael has 26 years of diving experience, with 12 years experience working in the motion picture industry as a safety diver,safety boat operator,water coordinator, and special effects diver.
We motored slowly past the boats in the harbor and slips of Marina Vallarta, passed near the Elation cruise ship, and out into the Bay of Banderas. From the bay we watched our hotel cabanas go by and downtown Puerto Vallarta (split into old town and new town by the Rio Cuale) come into view, with Conchas Chinas to our right and Mismaloya further on down south.
We stopped to step into our fins and snorkel masks provided by Aqua Guy. Nasty Nan thought one of her feet had shrunken when she got one of my fins NEARLY on by accident. We gracefully stepped off the ladder into aquamarine waters off of Majahuitas...(Michael is laughing now, as we both FELL over the side of the boat and nearly scared all the fish away when we splashed water 4 feet high...we TOLD him we were two old fat ladies who wanted to do a little snorkeling and go visit Yelapa!). We saw great schools of purple and yellow angelfish and light lavendar fish, and itty bitty fish that were growing into big purple fish one day. We saw predators on bottom, trying to fish the octopii from beneath the rocks.
We heaved ho up the ladder and back into the Super Panga and were on our way to find the dolphins. We came upon a pod of about 15 or so dolphins, from fully grown to babies. Michael knocked on the side of the panga, and I swear they KNEW who he was! He revved up the twin Johnson 105s and we were off, with the dolphins racing behind and beside us! It was spectacular! We slowed and they swooshed right up beside us, plunging and leaping in the water as we gawked big eyed at the adventure. We waved farewell to the dolphins and headed to YELAPA!
From journal Arriba, Vallarta!